I dug out this photo of my Irish great-grandfather, Robert William Cathcart, for Saint Patrick’s Day. He was born January 20, 1856 in County Down, Ireland. He was 25 years old when he arrived in Hawaii on October 24, 1881, aboard the American Barkentine “Ella” from San Francisco, according the the ship’s manifest from that voyage, now in the State Archives.

My sister, Bonnie, provided more information about the photo.

The man is Robert Cathcart, our great-grandfather. The woman is the 3rd woman by whom Cathcart had Hawaiian children, and the only one he married haole style. She is Ellen Poaha. The oldest boy is Willie (William). Edwin came next; he is the one who died young. Then Uncle Arthur, then Tony, the baby. Tony was not born until after Galbraith died in 1904, so I’m guessing that the photo may have been taken just before Cathcart, Ellen and Tony headed off to Tahiti. He was given the trip by Wilder Steamship Company — I thought when he left their employ, but I don’t know where he was working when he died.

Cathcart was naturalized a US Citizen about 1906 in preparation for that trip. He had to be a US Citizen to get himself back into Hawai’i after going to Tahiti, and he had to be married haole style (legally, by American standards) to Ellen if he was going to take her with him. They were married in Honolulu on 26 Oct 1905, per the marriage index 1832-1910, Vol 1, O-75:46, Hawaii State Archives. Tony went along, I suspect because he was still nursing, but don’t know that for a fact. I found Cathcart’s Citizenship certificate in the National Archives branch, Burlingame CA several years ago. There is a copy here in the house, but I am not even going to TRY to find it tonight! Interestingly, as noted, by this time Galbraith had died and it was established that Cathcart had written the Galbraith will. He lists his occupation on the ship manifest to Tahiti as — would you believe — ATTORNEY. I have not looked at the City Directories to see if he changed his occupation there, but did have to chuckle when I found that on the manifest for the Tahiti trip! Did the man have delusions of grandeur?

The taller of the two girls is Auntie Helen, the other is our grandmother.

I marvel about this because I never had any idea while growing up that I was Irish. I was raised as “part-Hawaiian.” But, it seems, I’m as much Irish as Hawaiian, perhaps a little more because of Irish roots somewhere in both of my parent’s heritage.

In any case, I picked up a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey at Tamura’s in Hauula yesterday, and had a drink last night in honor of my Irish heritage.

So, here we go, greetings to my Hawaiian-Irish cousins in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day.